Basil Rathbone

Biography

Sir Basil Rathbone, KBE, MC, Kt (13 June 1892, Johannesburg – 21 July 1967, New York City) was an English actor. He rose to prominence in England as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in over 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers, and, occasionally, horror films. He frequently portrayed suave villains or morally ambiguous characters, such as Murdstone in David Copperfield (1935) and Sir Guy of Gisbourne in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). His most famous role, however, was heroic—that of Sherlock Holmes in fourteen Hollywood films made between 1939 and 1946 and in a radio series. His later career included Broadway and television work; he received a Tony Award in 1948 as Best Actor in a Play. Description above from the Wikipedia article Basil Rathbone, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Baron Wolf von Frankenstein

Son of Frankenstein

Sherlock Holmes

The Spider Woman

Self (archival footage)

The Movie Orgy

Sir Guy of Gisbourne

The Adventures of Robin Hood

Sherlock Holmes

Terror by Night

Sherlock Holmes

Dressed to Kill

Andre Trochard

We're No Angels

Sir Ravenhurst

The Court Jester

Captain Esteban Pasquale

The Mark of Zorro

Sig von Aschenhausen

Above Suspicion

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror

Sherlock Holmes

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Canuto Pérez

Autopsia de un fantasma

Lodac

The Magic Sword

Sherlock Holmes

The House of Fear

Sherlock Holmes

The Pearl of Death

Sherlock Holmes

The Scarlet Claw

Sherlock Holmes (voice)

The Great Mouse Detective

Paul Reynard

Rio

Dr. Farraday

Queen of Blood

Sherlock Holmes

The Woman in Green

(archive footage)

The Horror Show

Narrator (segment "The Wind in the Willows")

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

Richard - Duke of Gloucester

Tower of London

Sir Joel Cadman

The Black Sleep

Montague Hartley

The Black Cat

Gerald Lovell

Love from a Stranger

Sherlock Holmes

Crazy House

Dr. George Sebastian / Dr. Langamann

The Mad Doctor

Carmichael ("The Case of M. Valdemar")

Tales of Terror

Professor Aristide

Heartbeat

John F. Black

The Comedy of Terrors

Henri Sarrou

Crossroads

Commissar Dimitri Gorotchenko

Tovarich

George Adams

Bathing Beauty

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes in Washington

Philo Vance

The Bishop Murder Case

Tybalt

Romeo and Juliet

Mr. Edward Murdstone

The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, & Observation of David Copperfield the Younger

Levasseur

Captain Blood

Sherlock Holmes

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Cesar Ferrari / Dr. H. Santelle

Fingers at the Window

Maj. Brand

The Dawn Patrol

Marquis St. Evremonde

A Tale of Two Cities

Antoine

The Masked Bride

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon

Undetermined Subordinate Role

The Loves of Mary, Queen of Scots

Tony Winterslip

Trouping with Ellen

Derek Nagel

One Precious Year

Dr. Boekman

Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates

Sherlock Holmes

Pursuit to Algiers

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes Faces Death

Alexei Alexandrovitch Karenin

Anna Karenina

Prof. Hartman, Lunar 7

Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet

Norman Cass Sr.

The Last Hurrah

Chief Inquisitor

The Lark

Michael Michailow

Confession

Lucio / Narrator

Casanova's Big Night

Reginald Ripper

The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini

Andre Benoit

Paris Calling

Gregor

Hillbillys in a Haunted House

Narrator (voice)

The Wind in the Willows

Self / Various Roles (archive sound) (archive footage)

The Adventures of Errol Flynn

Louis XI

If I Were King

Oliver Courtney

Rhythm on the River

Count Ferdinand Anteoni

The Garden of Allah

Lord Rockingham

Frenchman's Creek

Baron Wolf von Frankenstein (archive footage)

Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook

Ahmed

The Adventures of Marco Polo

Reginald Durant

Sin Takes a Holiday

Paul Gherardi

A Notorious Affair

Pontius Pilate

The Last Days of Pompeii

Caiaphas

Ponzio Pilato

Henry Abbott

Kind Lady

Clive Randolph

The Sun Never Sets

Johnny Selden

Make a Wish

Ferdinand de Levis

Loyalties

Edward

The Lady of Scandal

Col. Smith

The Flirting Widow

Lord Arthur Dilling

The Last of Mrs. Cheyney

Captain Randolph Courtney

A Feather in Her Hat

Thomas Wroxton

Private Number

Carl Vandry

A Lady Surrenders

Carmichael (archive footage)

The Horror of It All

Paul Parisot

This Mad World

General Lee

The General's Boots

Marley's Ghost

A Christmas Carol

Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield)

Victoria Regina

Jack Harrowby

After the Ball

Duke of York

Soldier in Love

Rizzio

The Great Deception

Capt. Alex Pastitsch

A Woman Commands

Reggie Oliver

International Lady

The Black Cat

Don Cesare Carelli

The Fruitful Vine

Basil (archive footage) (uncredited)

Breakdowns of 1938

Sherlock Holmes (archive footage)

The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes

Himself

Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood No. 6

Joseph Surface

The School for Scandal

Scrooge

A Christmas Carol

Amadis de Jocelyn

Innocent

Two Before Zero

Emperor

Aladdin

Ebenezer Scrooge

The Stingiest Man in Town

In the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes

Basil (archive footage)

Madhouse

Paul Charters

Affair in Sumatra

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

107

Gender

Male

Birthday

1892-06-13

Place of Birth

Johannesburg, South African Republic

Also Known As

Sir Basil Rathbone